1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fish bait applicator primarily used for baiting treble-style fish hooks with live and man-made bait or a combination of both without seriously damaging the bait.
2. Description of Related Art
Placing bait on a hook in an efficient manner has been a problem for fishermen for many years. The bait is often damaged to the point that it no longer attracts a fish or is so precariously perched on the hook that the fish dines on the bait without being snagged by the hook. Result, dinner for the fish. No dinner for the fisherman. Many devices have been tried to reduce damage to the bait and yet still secure it properly to the hook. Most of these devices failed to accomplish one or both of these objectives.
The treble hook is a great improvement over the single hook. When using a single hook and using minnows for bait, the hook is usually placed through the lips of the minnow. The fish often come up to the bait from behind and rip the bait off without ever coming near the hook. Using the treble hook and placing the hook near the end of the minnow is the preferred position for landing a fish when it strikes the bait. However, the problems encountered in baiting the hook increase. Treble hooks do not pass through bait easily. Especially when small bait like minnows, worms, marshmallows and large salmon eggs are used. With the present invention allowing the leader to pass easily through the eggs, the salmon eggs may be nested on the shank of the treble hook attracting the fish yet placing the eggs in a place where the fish will likely become hooked while attempting to access the eggs.
Devices to pass a leader through a bait to which a hook could then be attached were experimented with to try to alleviate the problems. Many of the devices destroyed the usefulness of the live bait since they damaged the respiratory organs of the bait. Dead bait is less attractive to the sought after fish. Delicate bait like the salmon egg was often destroyed attempting to pass the baiting tool through the egg. Some of the earlier tools have too many parts that could be lost while attempting to bait the hooks and once lost were useless to the user. Many of the earlier devices have various parts that must be engaged with each other constantly in the field. Many of these parts must slide within each other to function. If any of these parts become bent, corroded or matted with bait residue, they may fail to work at an inopportune time.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,603,026 to J. W. Duty on July 15, 1949 describes a live bait holder with spring loaded prongs to hold the bait in position on the holder and to pull the bait from the front. The device has a stiff piece of wire with a hook on one end to pull the bait holder into the bait. The holder and the hook may cause extensive damage to the bait.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,193,962 to R. Simpson on July 13, 1965 shows a device for inserting a leader into a bait. The device has a hollow piercer that is inserted into the body of the bait. The leader is then passed through the piercer. The piercer is then clamped to the head of the bait. This device is normally used for dead bait and since there is no latch over the loop hook of the device, the device is often very damaging to the bait and the leader loop could be easily dislodged from the hook. If any of the parts are bent, the device cannot be used. The device includes a tiny peg to secure the leader to a mouth piece in the mouth of the minnow so that the bait is pulled from the front and not from the fish hook at the rear. All these parts must be assembled at the fishing location and could be very easily lost either in the tackle box or over into the water rendering the device unusable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,734 to Kenneth Sauer, et al. on Dec. 24, 1985 describes a worm baiting tool with a pointed end and with two grooves in the tool near the pointed end to grasp a loop in a leader. The tool is inserted into and through the worm, the leader loop placed in the groove and the tool with the leader pulled back through the worm. The leader often comes off when using this tool and the bait is further damaged when the tool is reinserted into the worm. U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,220 to Ronald H. Bearce, Jr., et al. on June 22, 1987 shows a hollow needle inserter that penetrates the bait until it exits the bait. The point of a fish hook is then placed in the tip of the hollow needle and the bait is pushed onto the hook and onto a line attached to the hook. This device is for single hooks only.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,403 to John L. Reynolds on Nov. 17, 1987 describes a device with a fishhook securing needle that is placed within a hollow needle. The hollow needle is passed through the bait, the fishhook secured by the securing needle and the bait pushed onto the fishhook and line. The leader loop hook has no latch cover and could be easily dislodged from the needle. All these parts are easily lost out in the fishing areas. If either needle is bent or becomes corroded, the device can no longer be used.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,498 to Frank Wolski on Dec. 1, 1987 discusses a method for mounting shrimp using a bait threading tool. The tool is a stiff piece of wire with a loop on one end. The wire passes through the shrimp and the loop pulls the leader through the shrimp. The device causes internal damage to the bait when the loop catches on vital organs and rips the flesh of the bait.